


A Cuddly Protector

by Smellerbug



Category: Splatoon
Genre: F/F, Lesbians get a "dog"
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-06
Updated: 2019-02-06
Packaged: 2019-10-23 15:53:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,712
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17686487
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Smellerbug/pseuds/Smellerbug
Summary: Pearl wants to surprise Marina and Agent Eight with a new cuddly friend.





	A Cuddly Protector

**Author's Note:**

  * For [trashfeline](https://archiveofourown.org/users/trashfeline/gifts).



> I needed some writing inspo and figured writing a cute fic for a pal's birthday would do the trick!

The still night air was cut by a whimper, waking up a sleeping Pearl. The room that she shared with Marina was pitch black. It must have been the middle of the night. Another whimper followed, and she realized it was coming from the girl next to her in bed. She turned to the girl beside her, ironically the little spoon at the moment, and placed a pale hand on her shoulder. She was curled into a tight ball, her arms crossed over her chest and her fingers digging tightly into the exposed skin of her arms. Her body shook and her face was contorted in emotion. There was a sheen of sweat on her forehead. 

Pearl rubbed her hand in circles on her partner’s back and leaned in close. “Mar,” she whispered. The octoling didn’t respond, still far off in her nightmares. Shaking her a little and repeating, this time slightly louder, “Hey, Mar. Wake up. It’s okay.” This time the words seemingly got through, and Marina’s expression softened somewhat as her eyes slowly opened. Her nails no longer dug into her skin, and her breathing evened out a little. She instinctively turned her body to face her small girlfriend and wrapped her arms around her and pressed her face into Pearl’s chest without saying anything, and Pearl placed a hand on the back of her head and stroked her tentacles softly. They went through the same motions every time she woke her from a nightmare. For Marina, gripping the smaller girl tightly and breathing her in and hearing her heartbeats helped reassure her that she was in fact safe and whatever memories plagued her dreams were far away and long ago and couldn’t hurt her. “It’s okay, Marina.” 

A few moments passed by like this in silence until the last of the shakes had vanished and her breathing had fully steadied to a gentle rhythm before the words “Thank you,” were quietly muttered, muffled as they were. 

“Anytime, babe. I’m used to it,” Pearl responded quietly, still affectionately stroking the back of her partner’s head absentmindedly as she held her. After several more seconds, she murmured, “They’re getting bad again…” Marina just nodded solemnly, still pressed closely to the inkling’s torso. It was true. The octoling had had a several month long streak without any nightmares, having seemingly been able to finally embrace her present and feel safe and secure with where she was. But that was before they’d met Agent 8 and had to deal with Commander Tartar, during which time Marina had to see all of her dirty laundry being aired out in front of her, had to watch a young octoling endure brutal tests, and had to almost watch the world end as they knew it. If anything, the experience had brought the nightmares on more aggressively than ever before. 

Pearl’s ears twitched at a slight sound, another whimper from the hall, followed by a low, polite knock on the door. Marina wasn’t the only one plagued with restless nights since the ordeal. “Pearl? Marina?”

The inkling sighed. “Come on in, Eight.” Their bedroom door opened slowly and in walked a scared and exhausted looking octoling girl, barely younger than Marina. Agent Eight had been living with the idols in the weeks since the event, staying in their guest room that had now just become her room. “Nightmares?” Pearl asked. Eight nodded, and Pearl scooched over and made room in the bed. Eight sheepishly walked over and curled up next to the duo, something that had also become a fairly common occurrence already. Although Marina hadn’t said anything, she was still awake and very aware of the agent’s ordeal. She knowingly stretched out her dark arms to not only encompass Pearl but the other octoling as well. Sandwiched there between two people that she cared deeply for, as she listened to both of their breathing slow as they fell back into hopefully more peaceful slumber, Pearl laid awake, wondering what she could do to help them. As sleep had almost caught up to her, an idea came to her just as her eyes drifted closed and unconsciousness took her at last. 

 

__________

 

It was the next day, and Off the Hook had already finished their announcements for the day. Eight was off hanging out with Three, and Pearl had told Marina to go on home ahead of her, saying she wanted to stop at Ammo Knights before it closed. The octoling didn’t pry, taking the bait, and said she had to go pick up Eight anyway. She left with a kiss, and Pearl was left in the square alone. Of course she wasn’t actually going to Ammo Knights. No, she had a much different destination in mind. 

After walking for several minutes, Pearl stood out front of Squid’s Best Friend, Inkopolis’ resident pet shop. Through the window, she could see an assortment of colorful, domesticated sea slugs, or nudibranchs (nudis for short), a common pet in Inkopolis. As cute as many of them were, which was there mass appeal, she was here for a specific reason. She recalled seeing something on TV about nudi’s being loyal and offering all kinds of helpful benefits that helped people with their trauma, as well as providing security, and thought maybe getting one would help Marina and Eight feel a little safer at least. She took a deep breath and walked through the front door, a bell chiming pleasantly as she entered. As she walked through the petstore, she saw all varieties of nudis, many of which she’d seen with happy Inkopolis residents taking their colorful little friends on walks and to parks around the city. Most of the ones she saw were, she must admit, adorable, and like herself, fairly small. 

There were tiny fluffy white nudi pups with black spots and little black antennae that resembled fuzzy, feathery ears. These ones especially she’d seen increase in popularity recently. They seemed to be all the rage in Inkopolis, and she could see why. They were stylish, very photographable, and fit nicely in a handbag. The perfect fashion accessory and pet combination. As adorable as they were, they weren’t quite what she was looking for, and she kept looking. 

Her eyes fell on a couple of medium sized nudis, with longer necks, two sets of orange horns, and bright blue and yellow stripes. These were probably the next most common she’d seen around the city, pretty much your run of the mill, standard nudi. They were friendly, loyal, and excitable. She smiled as she watched a young inkling practically drag their dad over to them, an attendant scurrying behind them, all the while begging their dad to let them get one. The dad chuckled in amusement as the employee let them into the pen and the kid kneeled down and reached their hand out to the nudi. Immediately, it yipped excitedly and ran in a couple small circles before jumping up on the child playfully and placing a bunch of slimy licks on the small inkling, who at this point was shrieking with gleeful laughter. 

Pearl giggled as she watched this unfold, and was startled when a voice came from behind her. “Can I help you, miss?” 

She turned around to see a tubby inkling, maybe in her forties with pink tentacles in a tight bun, smiling at her. “Oh, yeah! All these little bastards are cute as hell, don’t get me wrong, but I was actually wondering if there was, I dunno, a breed or some shit that’s a good guard nudi? Just one that’s caring and loyal and good for people that are uhh… dealing with shit.” 

The inkling answered warmly, “Oh yes, I think I know what you’re looking for, right this way!” She lead Pearl a little farther into the shop and they stopped at a pen that had one larger, solitary nudi. It looked almost lonely. It was a dark bluish green, with large, lighter green spots speckled over its body, two protrusions on its head, and a short, ruffled “tail”. It was accented with a bright orange streak that ran down the length of its body, tipped its antennae, and speckled its ruffled rear. “We’ve unfortunately had a hard time adopting this guy out, due to the misinformation that tends to get out about his kind.” 

“What kind of misinformation?” Pearl inquired. 

“Oh you know, that they’re aggressive and dangerous. It’s sad really, because that’s all a bunch of,” she suddenly lowered her voice, “bullsharkshit. Pardon my language.” Pearl chuckled quietly. “There are no such things as bad nudis, just bad owners, and unfortunately aggressive and unsavory types of people who didn’t raise their pets right have given these sweethearts a bad rep.” 

“Assholes…” Pearl muttered, to which the employee hummed in agreement. Sure, he was a little big and intimidating, but he looked like he just wanted to be loved, and would protect his family no matter what. Protect Pearl’s family. 

“Really they’re the most lovable and loyal nudis you could ask for. My pappy got one like this a little after the War. I remember as a kid going over to his house and playing with old Jessabelle, that was his nudi’s name, and remembering my folks telling me how much happier he was after he got her, and how scared and anxious he was about everything before. Good ol’ Jessabelle was a bonafide part of the family. She made everyone around her feel a little safer and a little warmer, lookin’ out for us all til the very end.” The older inkling sighed bittersweetly after that last part. 

“Can I, um, say hey?” Pearl asked.

“Oh! Of course you can! Just be nice and gentle and let him sniff at ya to introduce yourself, okay?” The idol nodded, and she opened the pen to let Pearl in. 

Pearl crouched down a little ways away from the nudi, reached out her hand a bit nervously, and said, “Uh, sup dude. I ain’t gonna hurt ya. My name’s Pearl. You wanna come home with me? I got a couple of peeps who I know would love to meet you.” The nudi approached cautiously and sniffed at her outstretched hand. Upon noticing some dryer, red, scarred skin, it sniffed a little more before licking it. It kind of tickled and Pearl giggled, immediately taken with this goofball. “Uh, thanks dude.” He scurried a little closer and let the idol pet him a bit. Pearl beamed. “I like you, man, and I know Marina and Eight are going to, too.” She turned back to the employee. “He’s perfect, I’ll take him!” 

When she got home, she had a leash hooked into the collar a big, very eager nudi in one hand, and in her other hand, several heavy bags of supplies. She could barely manage so much as reaching the doorbell to their apartment, but she did, and after several seconds the door opened and a concerned Marina stood in the doorway. “Pearlie! You were at Ammo Knights for a lot longer than I expected! I was getting worri-” It was then that she noticed the large, panting, squishy creature next to her partner. 

“Hey babe! I see you’ve, uh, noticed the newest member of our little family. Let me inside and I’ll tell you all about him!” 

Marina was at a loss for words. A big pet is the last thing she expected her girlfriend to come home with. She simply stepped aside and let Pearl and their new critter scurry on through into their apartment. Eight must have been in her room, since the inkling didn’t see her. Probably on the phone with Three. “Eight!” Pearl called. “Get out here, I want you to meet someone!” As they waited for Eight to come out of her room, Pearl tossed the pet supplies on the couch and introduced him officially to her partner. “Go on dude, say hey to Mar!” 

The DJ looked a little nervous, but Pearl guided her to reach her hand towards the nudi in the same way that she had been instructed at the shop. “Um, hello there.” Marina murmured. She drew her hand back a little at first when he approached, but Pearl reassured her to just stay calm. After he sniffed a bit, Marina started petting him and she couldn’t help but for a smile to grace her lips. The nudi tilted his head and looked past Marina, noticing Eight standing there staring, her eyes wide. 

“Come here and say hello! Don’t be scared!” Pearl beckoned. Eight walked over, not afraid, just fascinated. She reached her hand out and the nudi sniffed at her just like he had for the other two girls, but now feeling more comfortable, didn’t need as long to warm up to Eight and go right up to her and lick her face. She burst out laughing and wrapped her hand around him, already loving the new housemate. 

Marina smiled warmly and looked at Pearl, still wanting some answers. “Pearlie, what’s this all about?” she asked quietly. 

“I just wanted you and Eight to feel safe. He’s a big sweetheart, and his breed is supposed to make for great guard dogs. You’ve been on edge since everything happened, especially having Eight here now. I know how badly you want to protect her and how much you worry about her. You don’t feel safe again. Your nightmares are back with a vengeance. I dunno, I just thought… maybe this would help.” Pearl looked the octoling in her soft green eyes and offered a small, nervous smile. “Sorry I didn’t ask you first… Are you mad at me?”

Sighing, Marina responded, “I wish you would have talked to me about it first, that’s true, but…” she paused and looked back to Eight, now having dug a toy from the bags on the couch and was playing with their new pet, “it’s really sweet of you, and how could I be mad seeing Eight this excited?” She turned back to the inkling. “You can be so thoughtful, almost to extremes, sometimes. But I guess that’s one of the things I love about you. Thanks, sweetheart.” She leaned over and gave Pearl a kiss. After pulling back from the kiss, Marina looked back to Eight and the nudi and pondered. “Does he have a name?”

“Not yet! But I was thinking something like King Chompers!” 

Marina rolled her eyes. “Are you serious? We can’t name him that. Did your dads let you name your childhood pets like that?” 

The inkling looked at her partner, confused. “What do ya mean? I thought Lady Firehawk, Empress of Hell was a great name for the parakeet they bought me, thank you very much.” 

“I… don’t even know what to say to that,” Marina sighed, amused. She looked back over to Eight and the newest member of their family. “Hmmm,” she hummed. “How about… Champ.” 

Eight must have overheard and taken a liking to the name as she exclaimed. “Perfect! Welcome to the family, Champ!” Champ didn’t understand anything they were saying, but he fed off of their enthusiastic energy and happily barked and shook and circled around the excited octoling and made rounds around the idols as well as they all chuckled together. 

“I guess Champ it is, then,” Pearl muttered, content to see the other two excited and more at ease already. If anything, Champ was a much needed distraction from their demons and worries. That night, for the first time in weeks, the idols’ night went undisturbed by nightmares from either of the octolings. Champ slept in Eight’s bed, and just knowing that he was there with the agent eased the DJ’s mind, allowing her to sleep peacefully in Pearl’s arms. 

Peacefully, that was, until the duo was awoken by a familiar voice. “Peeeaarrlll. Reeenaaa,” Eight called. “Champ peed in the bed…” 

Marina sighed, about to get up from their cozy mattress, when Pearl stopped her. “Don’t worry, babe. I got it, you go back to sleep.” The inkling smiled reassuringly at her partner. She’d forgotten the responsibilities and messes that come with a new pet, but whatever they were, it was worth seeing her little family feel safe again.

**Author's Note:**

> Also thanks to my friend Honey for helping me with her ideas about different kinds of nudibranchs for pets!


End file.
